This is Vanessa reporting on another wonderful Alpine Shop SWAP event, which took place May 2-4 in St. Louis:
I have loved SWAP since i first started working there in college. But now to go back as a rep and take part in such a fun sale from the other side is exciting and amazingly fun! Brian and i went down again this first weekend of May to participate in the Alpine Shop's 15th Annual Spring SWAP sale. And this time, we had an opportunity to take part of the Snow Peak sample kitchen with us!
My good friend that works at the shop's boyfriend (who is a trained chef, unlike myself!) agreed to cook the meal for us. He said it was fairly easy to use and i was just amazed and what he could create on an outside stove running off of 250g IsoButane canisters!!
John created a roasted eggplant and fresh mozzarella flat bread, a large pot of gumbo and fried polenta with fresh cheese!! Seriously, i was going to make hot dogs! Thank you so much to John for all your hard work and thanks to Snow Peak for letting us use the product!
Another great part was that Alpine Shop is super eco-conscious, so it was almost a zero waste event!! We had a blast and sold a lot! Thanks everyone and John!!!

As always, the line stretched well around the corner with people waiting in line from 3:30pm and on! There is always a big crowd for this event because the discounts are the best the first night! And with the great smells coming from our kitchen...well, who could resist?
Here is a side view of the boats, anxiously awaiting the sale to start. Dont' they look excited?
This was a fun set-up. Outside the tent as people were waiting to get in, a missouri trail building organization was making smoothies for people. The only catch was that you had to blend them yourself by pedaling the bike! It was pretty fun to watch!
Here is a great shot of Brian and John, eating and working (respectively) at the Snow Peak kitchen stand. We had a blast with the kitchen and peaked everyone's interest with our new LiteMax Stove- a 1.9oz titanium stove that retail for $55!!!! Everyone should have 5!! Thanks, Alpine Shop, for letting us come down and participate in such a fun event!

Marmot’s DriClime® Catalyst Windshirt and Aura 2-Person Tent Win Outside Magazine’s 2008 “Gear of the Year” Awards

Santa Rosa, CA – Marmot’s recycled DriClime® Catalyst Windshirt and Marmot’s lightweight Aura 2-Person Tent have won Outside Magazine’s 2008 “Gear of the Year” Award in both shell and tent categories. According to Outside Magazine, this is the first time any company has won two awards in two separate categories in the same season.

The awards are featured in Outside Magazine’s 2008 Summer Buyer’s Guide. Over the past year, the guide tested and reviewed 392 new, outdoor-related products. “The Buyer’s Guide has become a defining catalog of world-class clothing and equipment in recent years” explains Tom Fritz, Marmot’s Vice President of Marketing. “It is a big deal for Marmot to take two awards in this summer issue” adds Fritz.

The DriClime® Catalyst Windshirt is a versatile, athletic, wind and water resistant – and recycled – jacket. As the next step in the Marmot’s DriClime® evolution, the Catalyst uses UpCycle™ fabric in the bi-component lining (100%) and a recycled polyester face fabric (88%) with an additional Eco DWR. It also has a completely recycled zipper. Greg Houser, Marmot’s Vice President of Design and Production explains, “The Catalyst shows us what is possible when we integrate Marmot’s UpCycle™ technologies into our products.”

Marmot’s Aura 2-Person Tent, featured in Outside’s 2008 Summer Buyer’s Guide in an impressive two-page spread, won “Gear of The Year” for its remarkable spaciousness, innovative pole design and added lightweight value (with fly it weighs in at 4 lbs, 6 oz). “We were looking to give the consumer a high-value, all-mountain backpacking tent with greater ‘habitability’ than ever before,” explains Jeff Blakely, Director and Category Manager of Equipment. “I think we nailed it with the Aura,” he adds.

For more information about Marmot’s DriClime® Catalyst Windshirt and Marmot’s Aura 2-Person Tent, visit www.marmot.com or visit www.OutsideOnline.com. Under “videos” click on 2008 Summer Buyer's Guide and look for Outside Editor Sam Moulton’s review of the Catalyst and Aura in addition to other products highlighted in Outside’s 2008 Buyer’s Guide.

The Ignition continues to shine!!

The last three weeks have found me up north for most of the time. The week of April 8th was spent with Granger's and Marmot Clinics in our big box stores in and around the twin cities. I also had a chance to stop by the U of M's Center for Outdoor Adventure to see what things were going on in the college outdoor life and they were getting ready to open a new climbing wall. Then it was back home for a week to take care of my nearly one year old Newfie puppy, Sophie.
I started the week of the 21st up in Pewaukee, WI for a boulder comp at Adventure Rock Gym. Good Job, Craig and Andy, for making the night such a success with almost 100 people in attendance Monday night!

Then it was off to Chicago for a quick stop for a few clinics at Dick's and Cabela's, and my glorious return to the twin cities to meet up with Sunday. We made our rounds and stopped by Hoigaard's, Sport's Hut and Joe's Sporting Goods for clinic. The stores are looking great, now we just need the spring weather to go along with the great displays ( it is currently a rain/snow mix as i write this blog!)
But if spring isnt' your thing, just head up to Ely and Grand Marais as i did on Friday. I found countless lakes that were ice covered and the area was expecting up to a foot of snow that night! This last cold snap is really putting people in the mood for spring up there!

Duluth was next and congrats to the guys at Continental for their great PreCip sales already this spring. The gang at W-Trek is anxiously awaiting their first shipment of OBoZ with a few of their staff already impressed with their own pairs!

Saturday and Sunday will be very full days with the Midwest Mountaineering Spring Expo in Minneapolis. Good work to everyone involved with the expo, the store looks great! Well, off to the next leg...until next time!~Gillam

We regret to inform you that effective April 30, 2008, Axis Outdoors will no longer be distributing Granger's after-care products. We have really enjoyed our relationship with this company and are sad to see them go! In the meantime, we will be sending out info regarding our current inventory levels. Stay tuned!

Dear Marmot Retailers and Sales Reps,

Marmot online ordering is moving to http://app.ivendix.com. The application will be unavailable from Monday, March 24th through Wednesday, March 26th while we make this exciting move. Your previous user name and password will still work.

Important note: Work in Progress orders will not be available in the new application. Previously submitted orders will be available.

With iVendix, powered by CenterStone Technologies, you will have all of the features you had before plus many enhancements:

Improved navigation and workflow
Ability to search for more than one item number at a time Display of product images in ASAP ordering Enhanced Catalog View New cut and paste order creation in the worksheet Ability to choose up to six ship dates in the worksheet Enhanced inventory report accessible from multiple touch points within the application All past B2B order history will be available Tracking numbers viewable through shipping notifications Reporting module built into the application for sales reps and internal users Offline/Spreadsheet module for sales reps ? coming soon Compatible with Internet Explorer 6.0+ and Firefox 2.0

If you have any problems or would like a quick training overview, please contact CenterStone Technologies at:
support@centerstonetech.com 877-757-3681

Have you ordered OBoZ into your store? We would love to host an OBoZ event with you to promote the program. Every customer that tries on a pair of OBōZ will receive a seedling. The seedling will be packaged in a plastic sleeve and have a small customized label.

OBōZ will provide:
-Reps to help during the event
-Seedlings – sourced from the Arbor Foundation
-Earth friendly t-shirts for staff to wear during the event
- Stickers
-Earth friendly banners explaining the One More Tree program
-Pizza and beer for staff at closing time
-Dollars in the form of discounted goods to co-op advertising ( to be agreed upon)

And don't forget, OBoZ also participates in the One More Tree Program!

One More Tree Program
In partnership with Trees for the Future, OBoZ has committed to planting one tree for every pair of shoes we sell.
Trees for the Future (www.plant –trees.org) is an agro-forestry resource center helping people in developing countries improve their rural livelihoods through the introduction of environmentally sustainable land management projects focused on beneficial tree planting

Does this sound like something you are interested in? We can put in an ASAP order today for an event this spring, there is still availability! Call or email today!!

Functional enough to withstand three weeks of high-altitude desert and mountain exploration, yet snazzy enough to sit down to tea with the King of Mustang, the Marmot Women's Snazette performed royally on a recent trip across the Himalaya.
Mustang, considered a lost Tibetan kingdom, is one of the last restricted (and least visited) areas in Nepal. The region is a part of the Tibetan plateau and sits in the rain shadow of Dhaulagiri and the Annapurnas. A fierce wind whips across the plateau, and temperatures fluctuate from bitter cold at night to downright balmy during the day. The Snazette Jacket was exceptionally versatile--ideal in most temperature and weather extremes--and it was my layer of choice during our visit to Mustang.
The Marmot Softshell fabric is extremely wind resistant and breathable. During ascents of exposed mountain passes, the fabric's tight weave blocked wind beautifully but kept me toasty and dry by allowing moisture from my core to escape. As an insulating layer it was warm and eliminated the need to carry an additional layer, which kept my pack light. Though the dry conditions did not allow me to test its water resistance, it spent a frozen night out on a laundry line strung between our tents and dried quickly in the intense, high altitude sun.
The stretchiness of the Softshell fabric also proved quite comfortable on a thirty-hour flight, an eight-hour bus ride, sightseeing in Kathmandu, three weeks of high-altitude trekking and daily yoga sessions. Best of all, it shed dirt and dust and did not absorb odors like other synthetic materials, making it stylish and suitable for impromptu meetings.
Its limitations are few. However, pit zips and a hood would increase its functionality. The short cut fits well over a harness but otherwise exposed my mid-section when I raised my hands over my head during morning sun salutations. The slim fit is feminine and sexy, and though I normally wear a medium, I found it somewhat tight through my back and shoulders. The pockets are roomy enough to stow a hat, gloves and a snack, and are placed vertically, which makes them easily accessible.
Back home in southwest Colorado, the Snazette has proved equally useful on desert climbing trips and backcountry ski outings on the elusive early season snow near Red Mountain Pass. Overall, the Women's Snazette performed exceptionally well for a wide range of activities and environmental conditions. And despite six weeks of solid use in harsh conditions, it still appears brand new.

Pros: Versatile as a layer; wind resistant and highly breathable; comfortable stretch material; sexy.

Cons: Lacks pit zips and hood; short cut may ride up; slim fit through the shoulders.
© 2002-2008 Alpinist LLC

Oboz, the new footwear brand that launched last summer under the guidance offootwear veteran John Connelly, has shipped its first orders of lightweight,performance trail shoes to retailers.

Shoppers at online retailer backcountry.com (www.backcountry.com), Spokane,Washington-based Mountain Gear (www.mountaingear.com) and Bugaboo MountainSports, in Santa Cruz, California will get their first look at the footwearinspired by the Bozeman, Montana and greater Yellowstone environs. Oboztakes its name from 'outside Bozeman' and was launched last summer under theguidance of John Connelly, a veteran of numerous outdoor shoe brands.
Next shipments of Oboz will go to key retail partners including REI(www.rei.com), Hudson Trail Outfitters (www.hudsontrail.com), EMS(www.ems.com), Zappos.com (www.zappos.com), and about 60 other specialtydealers in the United States. Additionally, Kathmandu (www.kathmandu.com),with 75 shops in the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia, is alsoselling Oboz.

"Our launch has been a success," said Connelly, whose experience includesdeveloping, designing and marketing footwear at Keen, Montrail, Tecnica,5.10, and Vasque. "Good retailers are always looking for up and comingbrands to replace the underperforming shoes on their walls."

For spring 2008, the Oboz collection includes six styles each for men andwomen, some of which are named after the wild places near Bozeman.Top-selling styles include the Yellowstone, Hyalite and Bridger-alllightweight styles that can be used for hiking and kicking around theoutdoors-and the Ignition, a trail running shoe. "Our goal is to deliverexciting products that blend top-shelf materials and execution with superiorfit and fresh styling," said Connelly.

About Oboz
Oboz is a new outdoor footwear brand inspired by the wild environs 'outside Bozeman,' Montana - spanning the region from Bozeman to Jackson, Wyoming. Itis there that Oboz is found-a place for play and work, and a state of mindthat has the deepest respect for the area's rich natural heritage. Obozshoes-arriving in stores in February 2008-are designed to have meaningfulinnovation, solid performance and recognizable quality.

We had another great trade show this January! The new lines (END and Ambler) debuted very well, while the additions to the OBoZ line look incredible. And of course all the great new products from Marmot were very well received. We even won a few awards and had a few parties! Our new Green award for the EcoPro Sleeping bags!
This image shows the new booth design showing the "People, Product, Planet" brand moniker. Beautiful images for a beautiful message!
Brian and team Marmot holding down the front of the booth!

On Thursday night of the show, Marmot hosted Climbing's Golden Piton awards, complete with some great pint glasses!


Marmot also recieved two awards from Backpacker magazine: The Gold Award for our 800+ fill down bags and the Green award for our Ecopro sleeping bags. Congrats!!

Brian and Vanessa got a great opportunity to spend a week at the Ouray Ice Fest again with a couple of our favorite guys from Marmot corporate, Andy Meyer and Brian Rashap. It was a great opportunity to talk about the line, but also to get a little fun and climbing in! Andy and Brian got a chance to get on some ice as well! So fun, can't wait for next year!

Firefox Port Completion Notification
December 2007

We are pleased to announce the completion of CenterStone’s port of the iVendix Sales Order Management system to the Mozilla based browser, Firefox version 2.0!
This means both Macintosh and Windows users can now utilize CenterStone’s web-based B2B applications via Firefox 2.0 in addition to Internet Explorer for Windows.

In this phase, all core functionality around ordering, inventory, order status, order search, user administration, and help is accessible via Firefox. The Message Center will be available to Firefox users at a later date.

Thank you for your patience and support of this project. We look forward to providing you with our state of the art online order management system for many of your suppliers.

Hey guys, below you will find a list of the top booked styles for our territory for FA08! This should help with some of your buying questions!

Here are the top 10 Styles for M & W for F08 so far…

Men
Adamant Jacket
Ridgetop Component
Tamarack Jacket
TR6 Jacket
Cargo Pant
Warmlight Jacket
Warmlight Vest
Super Hero Jacket
Heat Shield Jacket
Guides Down Sweater

Women
Kitzbuhel Vest
Furlong Jacket
West Run Component Jacket
Chelsea Coat
Furnace Jacket
Neve Vest
Brilliant Jacket
Neve Sweater
Tamarack Jacket
Kitzbuhel Jacket

Top 10 Precip Colors
Men
Tempest
Dk Cedar
Black
Terra/Carob
Fire
Hedge
Northsea
Raven
Cairo/Flint

Women
Black
Chive
Sierra
Raven
White
Oasis
Auburn
Fire
Lemon

Here it comes! Trade show season is coming on fast! We are starting to schedule for the season and i will be contacting you shortly. However, if you would like to get in contact with me, i would be happy to put you on the schedule! Look forward to seeing all of you soon!

Another week on the road with great news from all. The first stop was the ABS Comp at ISU. There was almost 100 participants. Good job Chad and all of the Rec staff at ISU for pulling this off.

Then the next week found AAO in the Minneapolis area and Sandstone Ice Fest. The recent cold snap seems to be a great help with sales. The displays are looking great and looks like product is selling. I got a chance to stop by a lot of the stores and do a few clinics for those of you missed out during our last trip through.

Towards the week found me at Sandstone Ice Fest during the first really cold snap of the season. The thermostat ready a blistering -18. But the climbing was good and a good turn out. Good Job Tony and all who made the fest happen. Looks like the climbing will be good all throughout the season up there.